The very idea that music could be an instrument of torture confronts us with a novel and disturbing perspective on contemporary musicality in the US. What is it that we in the United States might know about ourselves by contemplating this? What does our government’s use of music in the “war on terror” tell us (and our antagonists) about ourselves?

Information:

Zero dB – stop music torture
Reprieve’s innovative ‘silent protest’ zero dB aims to stop music torture by encouraging widespread condemnation of its use within the US secret prison network. Ear splitting music played for days on end: this is modern torture. While leaving no marks on the body the devastation wrecked on the mind can last a lifetime, with many of its victims suffering mental breakdowns.Read full article >

Torture chamber music
David Gray has lambasted American interrogators for allegedly using his music to help extract information from internees in Iraq. Why might his music be chosen and what effect on prisoners is music meant to achieve?

This is not the first we’ve heard of familiar recordings being used in the “war on terror” – in 2003, Rick Hoffman, a veteran of US psy-ops – “psychological operations” – talked to the BBC about the use of tunes from Sesame Street and Barney The Dinosaur to break the will of Iraqi captives.Read full article >

About the author

Alison Leslie has been a volunteer with 4WardEver UK since it was set up in 2006. She assists with researching information and submitting them for inclusion on the website and other on-line resources developed by 4WardEver and its associate organisations.
4WardEver UK was launched in 2005 by Tippa Naphtali the cousin of Mikey Powell, who died in the custody of West Midlands police, Birmingham, UK in September 2003.